The Choice
by ElizabethI
Summary: Breaking Dawn SPOILERS! At Bella and Edward's wedding, Seth Clearwater meets Angela Weber. Suddenly, Seth doesn't have a choice anymore: he belongs to Angela. But Angela, in love with Ben Cheney and falling for Seth as well, does. What will it be?
1. An Angel

**An Angel**

Mom clutches my arm tightly. Her eyes are extremely wary, keeping track of each of the Cullens. I'm amazed that she can keep track of all of them, but she does. She watches Emmett and Esme as they whirl together, Emmett grinning and Esme positively beaming. Whenever Esme catches sight of Bella and Edward together, she glows. Mom looks occasionally at Edward, but his arms are around Bella, supporting her on his feet. Their eyes never stray from one another's, and even Mom has to admit that, at this moment, Edward is not a threat. She hardly ever glances at Carlisle, who's chatting to Bella's mom and stepdad. Mom doesn't trust him, exactly, but ever since he healed Jake she's more tolerant of him. Alice is flitting about, talking and laughing and fixing any decorations that need fixing, though few do.

So Mom watches these five out of the corner of her eye.

But she keeps a special watch on Rosalie and Jasper. They're standing at opposite ends of the great lawn, and both will occasionally glance at me with mistrust etched in every line of their white faces. Once, Alice came over to talk to me, and Jasper's face was terrifying. I looked up once at him, because I felt his gaze burning a hole into my head, and everything about his posture and facial expression said: _Touch her and I will kill you in the most painful way possible_. Mom did not miss this look.

"The danger's already gone, Ma," I assure her. And it is. Jacob and Edward have had their spat over- surprise, surprise- Bella.

Well, more than a spat. It was millimeters away from being a real fight. Jake was ready to kill Edward, and Edward was willing to fight, too. Jacob had squeezed Bella's arms pretty tightly, and he'd upset her on her wedding day- if you want to fight Edward, just make the corners of Bella's mouth turn down.

But Sam and Quil had arrived to help pull Jacob away- I helped too. And Emmett and Jasper were there for Edward, though I doubted they would have been the voices of reason, Emmett especially. Bella, however, laid a restraining hand on Edward's arm. Though he was infinitely stronger than her, her hand had greater power over him than anything else in the world could. That hand wanted him to stay, and he would not deny it anything.

Mom would never have known, and never had reason to worry. Except Billy, who was so happy about Jake being back earlier, looked serious and almost sad. Mom and Billy are kind of dating…he and Charlie have been competing for her affections since Dad died. I don't think they mean it disrespectfully. I know they didn't set out to fight over my dad's widow, but, over the past months, both of them have become distinctly puppy-like.

So Mom talked to Billy, and wanted to leave _right then_. "They can't be trusted," she hissed. My mother isn't afraid of anything, except me or Leah getting hurt. Leah certainly wasn't friendly with the "leeches", so there was no chance of her getting too close. If she had her way, she'd be a hundred miles from here. But me…I was a freak. My brothers thought it was as weird and disgusting as my sister did that I _liked_ Forks's resident vampires. Mom tended to agree with them, no matter how many times I assured her the Cullens wouldn't hurt me, or any of the rest (unless attacked first).

So Mom (and Leah, when I didn't shake her off) held onto me so tightly their short nails dug into my skin.

"Let's dance, Mom," I suggested. "Leah, Jasper's not occupied. You could dance with him." I couldn't resist teasing her. She growled slightly, then moved back a few yards. As Mom and I began to dance, far less gracefully than most of the rest of the couples (there was another vampire family here, and the two blonde females were dancing with slobbering human males), Leah shadowed us, always hovering, always looking about, always tense-ready to phase at a moment's notice.

That was when I noticed a couple nearly as graceless as Mom and me. They were near Edward and Bella, and moving at about the same pace as them. Though it was obvious Edward was going that slow to enjoy the moment with his new wife, these two seemed to be moving at such a pace because they could go no faster without losing their balance.

The guy was shorter than the girl by about six inches. He wore a nice tux, and his black hair was slightly untidy. The way he let his hands rest confidently about her waist told me they were a couple, and a long-standing one at that. His dark eyes were gazing into her light brown ones. It was obvious that they loved one another.

She was tall, about six feet, I'd say. Her light brown hair was in a bun at the nape of her neck. She wasn't fat, by any means, nor plump. But she was strongly-built –she wasn't a gangly giraffe. Her height fit her.

Her face was not beautiful, but it was pretty enough. Her nose was small and cute. She was smiling down at her boyfriend, though I could tell her expression was usually solemn. But not unkind. She had a very sweet air about her, and her eyes were gentle. Her face was not at all angular: there were no sharp edges. Her cheekbones, though fine and high, were softened just enough. Her chin was not round; it was very defined. However, it seemed like the edges had been blurred intentionally. _This girl cannot cut someone down_, is what the deity who made her seemed to be trying to get across. _This girl is safe._

I didn't know why I stared at them so long. I just felt like I _had _to. Mom, looking over her shoulder, said, "Do you know them?"

"No. I think they're friends of Bella's from school." Both of them were slightly familiar…I might have seen them at the beach once or twice, with that group of seniors that had been going since they were freshmen. But not since I became one of the pack. And everything was so much clearer with these eyes. It was like seeing it all for the first time. Like the girl's face: I had never realized just how pretty it was until this moment.

I don't know what made her look up. Maybe she sensed my eyes on her. Maybe, since I had unconsciously drifted closer to them, she'd heard me and Mom talking. Maybe she was just wanted to get away from the intensity between her and her boyfriend for a while.

Whatever the reason, those light brown eyes, those beautiful, wide eyes, met mine.

And I was hooked.

It made no sense, but I couldn't look away from her. My mom, my sister, my pack, the wedding, my whole life…it all fell away. This tall, soft girl was better than all of those things combined.

I knew I should look away, but I didn't want to. And even if I had wanted to, I don't know if I _could_. I wanted this girl. I wanted to walk up to her and see her smile at _me_. I wanted to hold her hand; dance with her; hold her tightly, and never, ever let go.

I wanted to know her name.

Without realizing what I was doing, I released myself from Mom's hands, and tapped the lovely creature's boyfriend on the shoulder. "May I break in?" I inquired, like they did in old movies. Looking bewildered, he acquiesced.

The angel stared at me with those marvelous eyes, and said, "Have we met?"

Her voice was the most wonderful thing I'd ever heard. I couldn't resist a quick look around. I was expecting everyone to be staring at us, to be staring at the girl in front of me, because she was so beautiful (how could I have thought her simply pretty only a minute ago?), and because her voice was so perfect. Why weren't they falling at her feet, as they should? I wanted to. This girl was worthy of worship, was _meant_ to be worshipped; if her maker didn't desire that, He wouldn't have made her so flawless.

"No. I'm Seth Clearwater." It seemed to take me an age to answer, and yet I knew it wasn't that long at all.

I placed my huge hands on her waist. Without warning, my grip tightened, but not too much. Her dress was welding my hands to her waist with something stronger than I'd ever known. Which was fine with me.

She had to look up to see me, something I sensed she wasn't used to doing. Her hands landed lightly and tentatively on my shoulders. If my shoulders were capable of it, they would have welded _her _hands.

Electricity was thrumming through me, from the hair on my head to the soles of my feet (a lot of electricity), though she didn't seem to notice.

"Angela Weber," she said softly.

Angela, Angela, Angela. It even _sounded_ like "angel".

She was glorious. She was the center of the universe. I was still bewildered as to why I was the only one staring at her like this.

And then, in a fleeting moment of clarity, when her eyes disconnected from mine and looked at the ground, I did.

I had _imprinted_.


	2. Glances

**Glances**

"Congratulations, Bella," I murmured. I smiled warmly at her. My friend looked gorgeous. Not only had someone (Alice, probably) done a fantastic job with her hair and makeup, but, as with most people, happiness also added to her looks.

And, tonight, there was no doubt that she was happy.

Edward, handsome as ever, looked more magnificent than he ever had. He kept one arm around Bella's waist at all times, and, occasionally, he would look down at her with such emotion in his eyes that it made me wonder if I knew exactly how strong their relationship was.

"Thanks, Angela," Bella said. "I'm so glad you could come."

I hugged her tightly, while Ben shook hands with Edward. There was a long line behind us, so, taking Ben's hand, I led him away.

"Do you want something to drink, Ang?" Ben asked.

"A little punch, maybe," I said.

"Back soon!" He stood on his tiptoes to kiss my cheek. I felt myself turning bright pink. I felt strangely sad as he walked away, though I knew he'd be back in less than five minutes.

I decided to sit in one of the chairs, smoothing my dress out. I felt extremely self-conscious- this dress had a lower neckline than I was used to.

There were three girls in the three chairs to the left of mine. Each of them was obviously waiting to be asked to dance. One by one, they were offered hands and smiles, and they whirled away. Nobody came to ask me.

When I was younger, this would have offended me. It would have made me go home and cry, and wonder why I wasn't pretty enough for everyone. Would have made me go sit in front of a mirror for hours and try to attain that flirtatious look other girls seemed to have without trying. But, when I was sixteen, I'd accepted I would never be a boy magnet, and I was okay with it. Plus, Ben more than made up for every other guy ignoring me. The thought made me smile. Yes, Ben was worth more than a million other guys.

It had been a few minutes; I wondered idly what was taking Ben so long.

To occupy myself, I decided to people-watch.

I couldn't find Bella and Edward anywhere – they must have gone away somewhere by themselves or were surrounded by guests. Edward's parents, Dr. and Mrs. Cullen, were off to one side, whispering, heads bent close together. Every so often, Mrs. Cullen would shoot a worried glance into the forest. I wondered what was going on, but then, it wasn't really my business.

Alice was dancing with Jasper, who'd come home from college for the summer, apparently. It was the first time I'd seen her take a break from doing whatever it is Alice does to make things perfect. Emmett and Rosalie were home, too. Rosalie looked even more beautiful than she had last year, and I was so certain that wasn't possible…even Ben had been looking at her rather wistfully.

A bunch of people from La Push were here. They didn't seem very comfortable, though. Except for one tall boy I'd noticed earlier…but I couldn't see him anywhere. Anyway, he'd seemed perfectly at ease.

Ben was back then, carrying two glasses of punch. "Thanks," I said. Ben sat next to me, draining his cup in one gulp.

He waited patiently while I finished my drink, and then, with his usual energy, bounced up and reached for my hands. "Let's dance!"

"Ben, I really don't think-"

"It'll be fun! You'll see!"

With a sigh, I rose to my feet. _If I didn't love him so much, _I thought to myself, _I would never be doing this._

Ben pulled me close, so close that his forehead was resting against my chin, so close that there was no space between his tux and my dress. That wasn't anything new- it wasn't like we didn't make out like a normal couple. It's just…my _dad_ was here. Mom had left with the boys about an hour ago, but Dad, the one who would get upset, was still here.

I didn't want to, but I made myself pull back a little. "Ang?" Ben's face looked hurt.

"Dad," I explained.

"Oh! I forgot." Ben looked around, checking to see where my father was.

Luckily, he was busy eating a piece of cake and talking to Chief Swan. But he was too close for us to dance like we did at prom, for example. "Leave room for Jesus!" He always told me before I went on a date with Ben. Every single time.

"I will," I always promised. I know

Dad meant "Leave room for Jesus" as in "leave room for someone else to fit in between you two", but I decided to interpret it differently. Since God was everywhere, surely, as long as there were a few molecules of space between Ben and myself, Jesus could technically fit there, if he so chose. I felt bad for deceiving Dad, but not bad enough to quit. It wasn't like Ben and I were sexually active or anything.

Ben and I danced for a bit longer, and then, feeling a little reckless (was there something in the punch? I didn't know why I was suddenly so giddy; that was unusual for me), I pulled Ben far into the shadows.

I kissed him, and he replied with enthusiasm. I always had a crick in my neck after kissing Ben while standing up, but the trade was worth it, in my opinion.

After about ten minutes, I decided we needed to stop. You see, Ben has these wandering hands that I tolerate in private, but so close to so many people…not happening.

"Behave yourself!" I hissed, slapping his hands away halfheartedly, being sure to smile at him as I did so, to make sure his feelings weren't hurt.

He grinned mischievously. He kissed me once more, gently and sweetly, before taking my hand and leading us back to the dance floor.

This time, a slow song was playing. I looked into his dark eyes and didn't look away. We didn't have to talk, didn't have to think. We just had to look at each other.

The sparks that always flew in my vision when I looked at Ben's eyes were turning into full-fledged fireworks. Needing a break, I quickly glanced away.

That's when I noticed someone was watching me. It was the Quileute boy who seemed so at ease. He looked about twenty or so, with cropped black hair and liquid dark eyes. He was dancing with an older woman that had to be his mother.

I expected him to glance away when I caught him staring – it's what I would have done, without hesitation – but he continued to gaze, and there was something in that gaze that I couldn't comprehend. I felt my face heating up, so I looked down again. But not at Ben. I was too disconcerted by the guy staring at me. Ben would see it in my face, would demand to know what was wrong, and, when I told him, Ben would proceed to blow things completely out of proportion and go give the guy a talking-to.

So I stared at our feet.

A deep, warm voice said, "May I break in?"

I raised my eyes, and it was him. The man who'd been staring at me. Ben shot me one bewildered look before saying, "Um…sure." And he backed away.

The man wrapped his huge hands around my waist –tightly, but not so tight that it hurt. "Have we met?" I asked. I glanced up once at his face. He was looking at me with that odd expression in his eyes again. It was tender, and adoring, but it made no sense that he should be looking at _me_ this way. I didn't even know his name.

"No. I'm Seth Clearwater." I chanced another peek as he spoke. He was…quite good-looking, actually. And very muscular. And ridiculously tall. He was nearly six inches taller than my six feet. I was worried then, worried that Ben would be jealous or hurt. What if he felt threatened by this guy? Though I felt that Ben knew how much I loved him, I couldn't even imagine how jealous I would be if Ben danced with a beautiful girl, though I trust him completely.

"Angela Weber," I replied. I tried as hard as I could to keep from touching him too much. My hands barely brushed at his shoulders. I wanted to find Ben, wanted to see his face to make sure he was okay, but that would be rude. Plus, there was something very compelling about Seth's face…I _liked_ looking at it.

We were quiet for a long time. The song changed then, and I cleared my throat. I couldn't stop my eyes from darting up to his face every few seconds. I removed my hands from his shoulders, and stepped back. He seemed reluctant to let go of my waist.

"It was nice to meet you, Seth," I murmured.

"The pleasure was mine," he said, smiling softly.

I was about to turn to walk away, when he said, "Angela?"

I whirled back around. "Yes?" I was glad to have an excuse to look at him again.

"I-" he stopped himself, frowned, and then seemed to change his sentence. "I hope we can hang out some time."

This confused me more than anything else had. We hadn't even talked, just danced awkwardly. But, as I thought about it, I realized I would like to see him again. "Me, too," I said, before I could stop myself.

He beamed, his eyes lighting up.

He watched me walk away, still grinning from ear to ear. I wrung my hands together. Though I'd only said I'd like to hang out with him sometime, the things I was thinking and feeling throughout my dance with Seth made me feel horribly guilty, like I had cheated on Ben.

I couldn't find him anywhere, and, as I grew more frantic, I pushed Seth Clearwater and the mysterious attraction I felt for him out of my head. _Ben_ was who I was attracted to, _Ben _was my boyfriend of over a year.

"Angela!" His voice came from behind me.

"Ben!" I cried, relieved.

I ran to him and hugged him.

All the doubts I'd had went scampering away when my boyfriend's arms wrapped around me, because every part of me knew that I loved him. Seth and his strange eyes were forgotten entirely. It was me and Ben, simply the two of us.

Just the way I liked it.


	3. Painful Warning

**Painful Warning**

I dragged Mom and Leah away, quickly, and we left the party. I knew if I stayed I would want to be around Angela, would follow her everywhere. And I didn't want to scare her.

I crawled into the backseat of Mom's old silver Cadillac. My legs always got cramps from riding in this car – I preferred running. But people might notice if Mom and Leah drove off without me.

So I sat sideways on the back seat, my legs bent at the knees. The moment Mom started the engine, Leah turned and asked, harshly, "What the hell was that back there? Do you even _know_ that girl?"

"Her name is Angela." The name came out softly, gently. For a moment, I wasn't in the car with my family. I was dancing with _her_ again, her beautiful eyes looking into mine, her voice filling my ears….

"Ugh," Leah groaned. "Did you imprint on her?!"

I grinned, brought back to the present.

"Yep."

"What?" Mom asked, eyes finding mine in the rearview mirror. "You imprinted?"

"Her name is Angela Weber. She's magnificent. I can't wait for you to meet her, Mom. You'll love her."

"Seth…." She trailed off. I was surprised Leah had said nothing else.

"Yeah?"

"You're only fifteen, baby."

"Mom!" I was protesting two things: one, that she was calling me "baby"; two, that she was classifying me with the rest of the kids my age, when she _knew_ I was more mature than that.

"Wait a second before you get all huffy," Mom insisted. "Now, I know that you aren't a normal fifteen year old boy. I know that all too well. In addition to everything else, you're also very mature, physically and mentally. But…well. Isn't she a bit older than you?"

"You know that doesn't make any difference, Mom. I'm hers now. Age is completely irrelevant."

"Not for you! For her. I'm sure she'll think twice about dating someone so young."

"Mom, I don't look fifteen. And once I tell her the truth, I don't think it will matter how old I am. She's either going to run away screaming" I winced here, envisioning this possibility; I wanted her to accept me, more than anything else in the world "or she's going to accept that we're meant for one another. In which case age would be the last thing to concern her."

"I suppose you're right." Mom sighed, and I saw her dart a worried look towards Leah. Imprinting was a touchy subject for her. Not only was she worried about all her reproductive issues (ugh! Number one on my list of Why I Don't Like Knowing What My Sister Is Thinking), but imprinting was also what took Sam away from her.

We pulled into our driveway, and, as I got out, Leah said, "Wait, Seth. Can I talk to you for a second?" She sounded amazingly calm.

Mom walked on, into the house. Abandoning me to the wolves, so to speak. (Sorry, but, ever since I became a werewolf, I make cheesy wolf jokes at every opportunity.)

"What is it?"

"About Angela…" Leah seemed strangely nervous. Leah was never, ever nervous. My sister had extreme fits of temper, but her emotions (since Sam imprinted on Emily, anyway), though they vary in degree, are always one of the following three: anger, irritation, and depression.

But I had very little time to take this in. Angela's name sent me off into a very nice, happy place, where she and I were dancing, talking, laughing. Where she told me it was okay I was a werewolf, that she loved me….

"SETH!" Leah's harsh, shrill shriek rent through paradise. When I focused on her face, the nervousness was gone. She was irritated again. Which was oddly comforting.

"Ok, ok. Sorry," I grinned, as apologetically as I could.

She growled.

"Look, Leah, I'm tired. What do you want?"

"Well, here's the thing," she began. She took a deep breath. And I suddenly recognized the look on her face, with a stab of worry. She wasn't nervous; she was in pain. Her eyes had that haunted look they got whenever she saw Sam with Emily. I could practically hear her silent screams.

"Leah, don't. I know what you want to say," I said, though I really didn't. But I knew it had something to do with Sam, and I didn't want my sister to go through that.

"Seth, I have to say it. I have to. Not for me, not for you."

This puzzled me. "For who then?"

"Well…for Angela, partially."

This made me pay even stricter attention. Anything to make her happy, anything that would benefit her. I would do it. The sky wasn't the limit, because there was no limit to what I would do for Angela.

"Was that her boyfriend she was dancing with earlier?" Leah said, quickly, eyes squeezed shut.

"Yes."

"Well…listen, Seth, I know how hard this will be for you. And I want you to be happy. But I don't think you should go after Angela. I think you should let her be."

This was not what I had expected at all. "Leah…explain."

"Well, before Emily. And Sam." She inhaled sharply through her nose, and balled her hands into fists. One tear trickled down her cheek. "Sam and I were happy." Her voice broke. "We _were. _And I know…I know he wouldn't change things…and I wouldn't either. Not really. He's happier with her than he was with me. Which is what matters. However…you'll destroy that boy Angela is dating, if you get her away from him. And it will hurt Angela, too, though she'll end up being okay, though loving you will heal her. Because…when Sam. Left." She was sobbing now, trying to get the words out. It was so hard to watch. I wanted to hug her. But Leah shied away from physical contact now. "He didn't want to leave me. But he also did want to. It tore him in two. In the end, he had no choice. He…he belongs. With Emily. He does. But it hurt him to choose, even though he knew he couldn't help his decision. And if he'd had a choice…well, it would have hurt him even more, knowing he _could_ keep me from hurting but hurt me despite that knowledge. Which is what Angela will be dealing with."

"I think making Angela choose will cause her a lot of pain. Cause everyone a lot of pain. So…could you try to stay back? Let their relationship run its course?"

I took a deep breath. I knew how much it had cost my sister to make her speech. I knew she was just warning me – she was warning me, at her own expense. I knew she would curl up on her bed tonight and cry for hours, something she had done every night until a month or two ago, when she finally began to accept everything.

"Leah," I whispered, "I can't stay away from her. I can't. Quil almost has a panic attack when he's away from Claire for too long. Jared would glue Kim to his side if he could. Paul checks in on Rachel at least once an hour." I didn't mention that Sam couldn't bear to be away from Emily, either. "You _know _how it feels, from running around with them and hearing their thoughts. Right now, it's all I can do to keep myself from running to her house and circling it." This was the truth. I felt a magnetic pull towards the center of the earth…I would never lose track of Angela. I would always be able to find her.

"Seth-"

"To stay away from her for any length of time would be impossible," I stated flatly. "Trying to do so would be a waste of time, and a miserable one at that."

Leah pursed her lips, and her eyes flashed. She hardened into the ice queen imprinting had made. I could still see the ghosts in her dark eyes, though. They would come and envelop her tonight, no doubt about it.

"Fine," she said. She reached up to haughtily flick her hair over her shoulder, until she remembered it had been shorn away. Aggravation flashed across her features. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

She stalked away, slamming the front door behind her.

If I weren't a werewolf with super-hearing, I wouldn't have heard her begin sobbing the moment she reached her bedroom.


End file.
